A Little Less Tact
by shefalls
Summary: Unexpected questions can often lead to unpleasant discoveries. Sometimes, though, it's for the best. Really. "How can you still use your powers when you're not?" "Not what?" "A virgin." "What!"


**A/N**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Inuyasha. Al characters belong to Takahashi Rumiko. The plot, however, is mine. Please contact me if you'd like to work with it.

**A Little Less Tact**

To the untrained eye Higurashi Kagome looked like a regular middle-school student. From the cliché sailor uniform, briefcase-like bag, and the beaten-down loafers she appeared to be straight from a guideline book about proper appearance on campus. The bounce in her step, her cheerful voice and even the slight bags under her eyes all appeared perfectly normal in a girl about to take the High-School entrance exams. But Higurashi Kagome was the opposite of regular.  
The bags under her blue eyes were from stress, but not over exams. It said something about her constitution that she regularly fought for her life against gruesome demons, five hundred ears in the past, and all she had to show for it were slightly puffy eyes, and an unseen scar over her left hipbone. Then again, if anyone listened carefully they'd hear a slightly hysterical edge to her voice whenever exams, particularly math related, were mentioned to her, so perhaps Kagome wasn't so strange after all.

'It's already been four months,' Kagome mused, as she'd climbed out of the Bone Eater's well, lugging her already worn yellow backpack along. She took a moment to appreciate the silence and offer a timid prayer to any kami available that this time, just this time, she might have her three days at home to herself.  
It's not that she disliked Inuyasha. At first, sure, he'd been rude and downright scornful, but lately, he'd been… not friendly per se, but he was better. He still kicked up a storm when Kagome announced she had to go home, but this time he didn't threaten to come and drag her back by the hair. It might've had something to do with Sango's relatively new presence. The taijiya had joined with them only a month ago and already Kagome felt like Sango could be the sister she'd always wanted. Plus, having another girl join them just made Kagome feel better, overall. Shippo was a dear, really, but Miroku could get on her nerves and she was too soft-hearted to properly beat him into his place. Sango had no such qualms.  
In fact, Sango was the reason for this recent trip home. Their supplies could be stretched for a little while longer, and it was smack in the middle of summer vacation, so she didn't have school to attend. This visit wasn't about time with her family, either. No, Kagome returned home because her new friend asked her a question. A very disturbing question.

'Nee, Kagome-chan,' Sango had probed hesitantly only a week ago, while the two of them refilled their water canteens by a small stream. 'Can I ask you something?'  
'Sure!' was Kagome's enthusiastic reply.  
'I don't mean to offend you, or anything.' Sango clarified, much to Kagome's confusion, and then hesitated.  
'What is it, Sango-chan?'  
'How can you still use your powers?'  
'Huh?'  
'Well.' Sango flushed red and seemed to have difficulty finding the right words. After a moment a determined gleam entered her eyes and she nodded resolutely. 'In this time,' she began slowly, 'a Miko's powers come from her purity.'  
'Um, yeah, I know.'  
'Of the soul and the body.' Sango said a little more stiffly.  
'Yes,' Kagome repeated; a small frown appeared on her face. 'Kaede-baa-chan explained it to me.'  
'What I mean to say is, all Miko I've ever met were virgins.' Sango clarified and before Kagome could ponder why that clarification was needed, the taijiya quickly charged on. 'How can you still be a one if you're not?'  
Kagome blinked.  
Sango blinked back at her.  
The silence stretched between them for several minutes, enough for their canteens to completely overflow.  
'I'm not what?" Kagome asked blankly.  
'Not a virgin.'  
'What?!' Kagome felt her face heat up, along with her temper. Embarrassment tended to bring it out in her. 'Why would you – I – of course I am!'  
'You are?" Sango looked genuinely surprised.  
'Yes!' Kagome squeaked. 'Why would you think I wasn't?'  
'I'm sorry!' Sango gasped and put a hand to her face in embarrassment. 'I guess it's your clothes. The last village we passed, I heard some of the men wondering whether Hoshi-sama or Inuyasha had bought you, and for how much. I know Inuyasha overheard them, too, but since he didn't say anything –'  
'That pig!' Kagome all but roared and then frowned, 'what do my clothes have to do with it?'  
'Um.' Sango blinked and tilted her head, 'you show your legs. That is a trademark of a courtesan or, well, a prostitute.'

For three days after that, neither girl could look the other in the eye without blushing. Miroku enjoyed every moment of it, completely convinced something untoward had happened between them, and Inuyasha flat out ignored it – all he knew was that Kagome gave him a brutal sitting too close to the occasion, and he did not want to provoke another bout of _that_.  
After that conversation, Kagome had borrowed Sango's spare yukata, and flat out refused to change it, even when some unidentified mush from a stray demon's innards splattered all over her front.  
'Just wear your own damn clothes, wench!' Inuyasha had yelled, after two days when even Kagome's human nose could pick-up the stench of the stained fabric.  
'And be mistaken for a whore?!' she screeched, infuriated. 'Again?'  
Inuyasha turned an unbecoming shade of red, all but admitting to the silent accusation.  
'Why didn't you tell me?' Kagome wailed.  
'Keh!' he turned his head away. 'Not my fault you don't know shit!'  
'Sit!'

And so, Kagome was home to change up her clothing. It might seem vain, but she flat out refused to be considered… that. Also, her uniform wasn't exactly cheap, and she was going through them like dirty socks. If anything, this would be a relief for her mama.  
'Still,' Kagome thought demurely, 'maybe it's best to check what people wore, back then. To avoid another… _misunderstanding_.'  
Truthfully, Kagome was hoping to find some way to avoid wearing any sort of kimono. Even Sango's light summer yukata proved to be a completely uncomfortable experience. Now that Kagome was aware of just what bearing her legs for all to see meant, even the sensation of clothes hiking up during battle became an unnecessary distraction. She knew she could've taken a pair of traditional Miko garbs from Kaede but just the thought of Inuyasha's expression, just the idea of looking even more like Kikyo, made Kagome ill. So, that was a firm 'no' on an available solution. Sucks to be her.  
"Ah, Kagome!" her jii-chan's voice exclaimed in surprise, as Kagome was slowly dragging her feet towards home, busy with her thoughts and not her tempo. "Welcome back."  
"I'm back, jii-chan," Kagome replied unenthusiastically.  
"Something bothering you?" the elderly man asked, "I have an ancient relic –"  
"Jii-chan," Kagome sighed heavily, "I don't think a relic could help me. Unless it's something I can wear."  
"Something you can wear?" her grandfather raised an eyebrow.  
"I've been made aware my uniform isn't, err, period-appropriate." She gestured to her filthy, borrowed yukata and made a mental note to get Sango a new one.  
"Ah." Her grandfather eyed her up, "Took you long enough. You youths and your attachment to your school uniforms!"  
"Jii-chan!" Kagome exclaimed, "you knew?!"  
"What, that a sailor uniform would stand out?" he gave her an unimpressed look, "I didn't take you for an airhead, Kagome."  
Kagome flushed in embarrassment. In retrospect, it really was a poor clothing choice, for various reasons. It made her stand out, made her different from everybody else. Somewhere in her attempts to make Inuyasha realize she wasn't Kikyo, Kagome began to cling to her futuristic identity as a defining characteristic. Not just with her clothing, but her lingo, the many futuristic foods, and gadgets she brought back, despite the archeological risk of leaving them behind.  
'I'm from the future, but that's not what makes me, _me_.' She thought sourly.  
"Anyway, I need to visit the market and see if there's anything I can find." She groused to her bewildered grandfather, "after finding a historically fit option in the library."  
"What's wrong with our shrine clothing?" he all but shrieked, surprising Kagome with his vehemence. "You are a shrine-maiden of the Sunset Shrine! You should wear our garb proudly –"  
"No offense jii-chan, but I don't want red hakama and a white haori."  
"What?" Jii-chan gave her a scandalized look, "didn't you listen to anything I taught you? We are a family shrine! We have no shaman garb, we train clerics!"  
Kagome made a face as she tried to remember her grandfather ever talking about something like that. He could have, she supposed. Until that cursed jewel was ripped from Kagome's body, she never managed to remember anything that related to temple matters.  
"Why do I bother." Jii-chan all but rolled his eyes as he turned around and began stomping away. "Come along! I just finished clearing the storage. There're a few pairs of female robes left. Might be a bit ragged and big for you, your great-aunt used to wear them, and she was a big woman, bless her soul."  
For once in her life, Kagome decided to not look a gift horse in the mouth, hoisted her bag a bit higher and hurried to catch up with her grandfather. Even if the robes didn't fit, they'll give her the right idea.

The robes fit.  
The style and cut were nearly identical to what Kagome's grandfather wore during festivals or other important dates, but the colors were different. The outfit consisted of a pair of loose black hakama, tied to Kagome's calf by internal strings, effectively preventing the fabric from moving but still maintaining a comfortable fit. A simple white under robe was tucked neatly into them and above it, a red chihaya with a matching obi spilled down to her knees. The colors dulled with age and the fabric was well-worn, to the point where it felt soft and light against Kagome's skin, though originally it was thick and tightly spun cotton. The sleeves were a bit too long for her, and the hakama a little too loose, but it was a vast improvement over a damned yukata any day.  
"I'll take it," Kagome said decisively, but jii-chan had already left her to her own devices. She took a look around the storage unit, still as messy and unorganized as before despite her grandfather's constant claims of having managed it. Kagome shrugged and began rummaging through the many containers, hoping to find the other pairs of robes her grandfather mentioned.

After two hours spent digging through the dusty room, Kagome emerged victorious with two extra pairs of robes – one a deeper red, the other orange – and two yellowing notebooks. The notebooks were hidden under one pair of robes and were surprisingly a collection of Buddhist sutras. Kagome thought Miroku would find them interesting, so she'd grabbed both. Now she finally made her way home, where a hot meal and an even hotter bath were calling Kagome's name seductively. Tomorrow she'll get Sango a new yukata, in addition to washing and repairing the one she'd borrowed. Kagome also made a note to switch out their supplies for ones more appropriate to the times. Inuyasha would hate it, but there would be no more ramen cups available.  
'They're seriously unhealthy, anyway.' Kagome justified herself in her own mind, as she snuggled into bed later that night. 'Might also buy some books on the period. It's time to get my head in the game.'

**A/N**

Hello! Thank you for reading this brief oneshot.  
To those of you returning - Priestess has not been cancelled! Priestess is going to return - better. Being in quarantine makes for a lot of time to revisit some of my ideas, and I realised I want to take Priestess somewhere else. I want it to be... deeper. I want it to touch hearts, I guess, in much the way the original Inuyasha touched mine as a child.

I want to do my take on Kagome justice.

Thank you for putting up with me. Please look forward to Priestess, I will not let you guys down.


End file.
